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West Dorset District Council was originally set to decide the shop's fate on August 31 , but an extension has been granted to allow the public to have their say on amended plans.

Gerrard Matthews, who is acting as the agent for Swanmore Estates, was present at the meeting, as were several members of the public.

What do the public think?

62 Cheap Street as it appeared in April (Image: Daniel Mumby)

Numerous members of the public have submitted comments on the application since it was submitted, with the vast majority being against the proposal.

One commenter, David Beddows - who resides above the neighbouring 60 Cheap Street - was present at the meeting and gave his thoughts in person.

He said that the present application was "not representative of the facts, or of what has taken place", and raised concerns about the loss of green space at the rear as a result of the ground flood area being extended.

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Mr Matthews added that Sherborne currently had only one bespoke coffee shop on its high street (namely Costa Coffee), as opposed to other cafes or restaurants which offered coffee.

He said: "Only one shop, namely Costa Coffee, is purely a coffee shop; Oliver's Coffee House, for instance, is technically an A3 category, i.e. a restaurant.

"Is a coffee shop equal to the devil? What's the difference compared to having lots of places selling clothes?"

The council's response?

Representatives from the Sherborne Chamber of Trade and Commerce outside 62 Cheap Street with former Mayor of Sherborne David Birley (Image: Terry Fisher)

Councillor Kate Pike, who chairs the planning committee, said that it was "lamentable, to say the least" that conventional planning procedures had not been followed.

She claimed that Mr Matthews had stated to her in 2016 that "it is too expensive to wait for planning permission, so we just get on it with it." Mr Matthews did not dispute this allegation during the meeting.

She concluded: "All of this could have been avoided if we had been listened to."